Log Graders and Scalers salary

SOC 45-4023 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$46,330

per year, nationally

Middle half

$37,780–$56,250

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

3,070

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-0.7%

600 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$34,950$62,400

10th: $34,950
25th: $37,780
Median: $46,330
75th: $56,250
90th: $62,400

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where log graders and scalers earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Washington	$61,580	107.0	200	2.82×
2	Oregon	$60,250	103.4	50	1.37×
3	Idaho	$57,620	95.5	140	8.26×
4	California	$56,670	110.7	320	0.90×
5	Michigan	$51,810	96.2	50	0.52×
6	Maine	$50,180	97.0	120	9.51×
7	Ohio	$49,710	92.8	30	0.29×
8	Mississippi	$48,010	87.0	130	5.79×
9	Louisiana	$47,510	88.2	90	2.41×
10	New Hampshire	$46,530	104.2	30	2.59×
11	Indiana	$46,160	93.3	60	0.95×
12	Wisconsin	$46,150	94.1	180	3.02×
13	Kentucky	$45,330	90.2	80	1.92×
14	Alabama	$44,950	88.8	100	2.44×
15	Pennsylvania	$44,550	97.6	330	2.71×
16	South Carolina	$44,370	93.7	40	0.91×
17	West Virginia	$43,040	89.5	90	6.14×
18	Arkansas	$42,340	86.9	190	7.43×
19	Georgia	$39,830	96.3	130	1.35×
20	Florida	$39,040	103.4	70	0.35×
21	Missouri	$37,440	90.8	60	1.08×
22	North Carolina	$36,850	94.3	200	2.03×
23	Virginia	$36,220	101.1	80	0.99×
24	Texas	$36,100	97.1	40	0.15×
25	Tennessee	$35,920	91.9	110	1.69×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where log graders and scalers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for log graders and scalers

The 1 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Longview-Kelso, WA	$61,030	97.5	30	37.83×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where log graders and scalers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.